Eardley Escarpment

Rememberance Day in Ottawa is most often a cold and windy day. I guess that is somewhat fitting the sombre occasion and normal for the middle of November. Bryan and I usually take advantage of the day off to hike to some quiet part of Gatineau Park which I figure is as good a place as any to take some time to contemplate the day. Today, we were joined by Ken for a hike along the Eardley Escarpment and a visit to Lac Hachet. As this was the first hike with all three of us since Ken's 46er finish, we presented him with a custom designed, but not official, 46er t-shirt. A collector's item for sure!

We hiked some trails along the escarpment at the northern end of Gatineau Park which is less visited and quieter and for my money the more enjoyable part to hike in. There is a complex set of trails there that have the feel of 46er herd paths. The path is faint with just the odd cairn or paint splotch to keep you on track. This trail runs across the top of the escarpment with views looking west along the Ottawa River valley. These trails are best hiked at this time of year when the bugs are gone and the leaves are down so you get better views.

On the way back to the car we detoured to Lac Hachet which is one of many small lakes on top of the ridge. A small beaver lodge in the middle of the lake but little sign around the shore of beaver activity. We stopped a while for some refreshments and photography and surprisingly no one went for a swim! There was snow in the air and that cold breeze that said winter is on the way...one can hope at least!

Heading South

Having taken Monday off I went for a walk in the Stoney Swamp area and stopped off along the trail at a pond. This pond is remarkable for the area in that it contains several heron nests. I thought it might be a good spot to check out migrating geese and I was not disapointed. About a minute after I got there, several hundred canada geese flew in from the east side of the pond and landed in the middle while honking as loud as they could. For the next ten minutes groups of stragglers came along and circled around and landed too. Quite an awesome sight (and sound) and not something you see very often.

Last (and first) paddle of the season

I headed out Saturday afternoon to visit a friend's cottage on a bay on the Mississippi river just west of Carleton Place. While it was raining when I set out, the sun came out and made it a nice day for November. They have a sweet setup there. A three bedroom house with a west view across a bay with a seperate "shack" with two loft beds. Apparently the cottage was moved in various pieces from a location along the Ottawa river back in the 1950s to make way for the Ottawa River parkway.

After a tour of the property and of the nearby "point" we put the canoe in the bay and went for a late afternoon paddle around their bay and the one next door. The water level was low but we were able to investigate some beaver and muskrat dwellings as well as some really nice houses along the shore. Then as we were returning the sun was glowing bright in the sky just before sunset. A great way to spend a November afternoon!

Jack Pine stroll, dammit

I went out for a walk today in the Jack Pine forest looking for some relaxation. One of the benefits of living in the west end of Ottawa is the plenty of forested greenspace that is 5 minutes from home. It was a sunny but cool day and I was out walking and taking photos but mostly getting molested by chickadees who seemed to think holding up a camera meant it was breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or at least snack-time. These mini panhandlers are trained by people feeding them and they will dive bomb you anywhere in these woods wanting a handout. Further along the walk, I found an empty Dasani water bottle wedged in a tree. You really have to hand to a business that sells a product to unwitting rubes that they can already get for free. Ummm, gotta love that refreshing Boston tap water!!

Hey, old man winter, send us more snow.

PS Let's hope that Barack kicks the crap out of that wrinkly white haired dude and the rest of his red state buddies this Tuesday!!